Convalescence
by Ascacious
Summary: Only memories of the people who depart the world are left on the surface. Maybe saying something more at the right time would have been appropriate?


**A/N: **_I believe, that if Sasori and Itachi were partnered or just if they had known each other better, they would have gotten along pretty well. I just had to get this out of my head. But they did share the screen for a few minutes, when they + Kisame went to recruit Deidara. Ah, good Akatsuki times. Oh and I just got some good direction for Cryptic Clocks when I wrote this, so expect an update soon. And I have many more stories that are half-written, but well, I'll look at them later._

**Disclaimer: **_Don't own anything but the plot. The picture used for this fic is not mine, though I did photoshop it so that both of them are visible._

* * *

**CONVALESCENCE**

* * *

**About the Story:** Sasori moves without Hiruko and everyone knows of Sasori's real face.

* * *

"Your eyes, how long will they take to heal?"

"They will be fine soon."

Itachi knew that his eyes would heal, despite the strain he put on them. It was the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan after all. Many times in war, one would use their eyes to their extent to save their comrades or to help themselves out of a tough situation, but that would not mean that the eyes were permanently damaged. His eyes ached a little and his vision was only a bit blurry. They just needed to recuperate.

But there was one problem. They were still too far away from the nearest Akatsuki hideout. The Uchiha and his partner were currently walking down a chaotic and noisy town. Small towns often appeared on their journeys between the villages and the hideouts. But it was refreshing to come across such towns. Since all the members of Akatsuki focused only on the latest activities of the hosts of the tailed beasts and their capturing, seeing people lead normal lives distant from the bitter truth of the ninja world was a change to them. The members often used to stop by these towns to rest or to become a part of the normal crowd for once.

Kisame spotted a stale and raggedy hotel. The place barely looked like it was standing, but it was still offering services of normal hotels. It wasn't flashy, nor crowded and this led to the former Mist Villager suggest his partner to rest there of all places.

"We should rest there until you feel better." Kisame was really concerned about him. Well, of course. He was much more human and understanding than the other Akatsuki members, as concluded by Itachi, that is.

Itachi agreed to his partner's suggestion, simply by nodding and walked ahead of him to the hotel. As old it looked from the outside, it was even worse when one entered it. Walls cracked, furniture dusty and the reception desk was hardly upright, yet the two Akatsuki did not turn back. An old woman was sitting behind the desk, though it didn't seem that she had any life in her.

"Uh, welcome…" said the woman in a gruff voice. She coughed and took out the hotel register.

"Two rooms, please. For one day only." Itachi politely went up and informed the lady. It was no surprise. He had always been very courteous and respectful, no matter who he was talking to. And if it was an elderly person, his voice would also adjust itself into a much softer and undemanding tone.

"Thank you. Your rooms are… uh, number 34 and 35." She ducked down to fetch the keys to the respective rooms. "Here." She bowed and placed the two keys on the table.

Itachi bowed his head a little, in response to the elderly woman's genteel behaviour. Whereas Kisame picked up the keys to their rooms and walked to the staircase on their right.

* * *

It was way past midnight. The town was quite quiet and there were no sign of movements. Itachi could not sleep at all. He was supposed to be resting; rather this whole side trip occurred because he needed to convalesce. But well, it couldn't be helped if he voluntarily didn't want to. He really relished taking nocturnal walks, even when he was in the Leaf Village. He often stepped out at night just to get some time alone, with himself and his thoughts. He didn't mind being with Kisame, in fact, his partner was one of the best people to be partnered with in the organisation, but alone time is just precious in its own way.

After about a twenty minute walk, Itachi returned to the hotel and sat down on one of the couches in front of the manager's desk. It was enough surprise that they had furniture to lay out for their customers at the ground floor. He held his forehead with his hands and pressed it harshly, in order to suppress the pain. Oh, how he hated such sleepless nights!

"Huh, is that you, Itachi?"

A familiar voice broke through the weasel's thoughts. Itachi turned back to see his fellow member, the redhead Sasori walking down the staircase.

"What a surprise. Never expected to see you here. I believe Kisame is here as well." Sasori said in a monotone, as he made his way to the couch across the Uchiha.

"Yes, he is. Deidara?" Itachi continued the conversation. He could never be rude, so as to dismiss anyone, especially if that anyone is in the same organisation as him. Though he would have liked to be left alone at that time.

Sasori nodded to approve of Deidara's presence in the same hotel. It seems that all Akatsuki members had similar thought processes. The pairs coincidentally passed by the same town, but they chose the same unattractive hotel to rest. They were a criminal organisation after all. Too much attention could be fatal in their case. There was a moment of silence between the two men, until Sasori noticed Itachi's eyes were blinking successively, in a strange manner.

"Do you have a problem in your eyes?" He leaned in from the distance to inspect his eyes thoroughly.

"Yes. Excessive usage of bloodline limit." Itachi paused for a moment. He wanted to be as vague as he could, but then maybe this would make the redhead leave him alone. Not that he minded his presence in particular. He had to admit, Sasori was at least not as boisterous and loud as Deidara. "They will heal soon though."

Sasori continued to closely inspect the weasel's eyes. He then stood up and spoke. "No, they won't. Your eyes won't heal if you rest one day. You need to give them complete rest for a week or even more. But... if you have the right medication, you will make it sooner."

Itachi frowned at the redhead's statement. He hadn't heard of any significant medication for healing strained eyes.

"Follow me." Sasori walked up the staircase and expected the Uchiha to pursue him. Itachi did.

* * *

The artist opened the door to his room; room number 27. Itachi was silently following him, because he had already come to the conclusion that the medication mentioned earlier, is why he was being taken to Sasori's room. He must be having it with him, even if it sounded bizarre.

"Sit down." Sasori motioned his hand in the direction of a few chairs laid out in his room. Itachi did as he was told, not making a single noise or changing his expression even a bit.

Sasori fetched a small box from his cupboard. He was an expert at making poisons. His poisons were said to have no antidote and being fatal from a slight touch of it to the skin. As he had spent a significant share of his time experimenting with the deadliest poisons, he was well aware of the herbs and sages. This helped him make medicines and remedies to cure even the littlest errors. Though he wasn't the kind who would make medicines from his collected herbs, he still decided to make one at that time. It wasn't hard at all. He just had to mix some of his bottled solutions he prepared before.

While Sasori worked his hands over the little bottles he had preserved, Itachi observed. Even if his eyesight was not the clearest, he could see how the man was expertly examining and blending his collected chemicals. In his mind, the weasel already had respect swelling up for him. He had always respected people who had specialised knowledge in their field of concern.

After a few minutes of wait, Sasori walked up to the Uchiha and offered him a small bottle. "This is the medication I was talking about." The bottle had some pale liquid that shined from behind the clean glass, of which the bottle was made of.

Itachi took the bottle from the redhead's hand. It seemed like an eye drop. He continued to look at the bottle suspiciously, until he heard the puppet master say something quite faint. "Take it. It's not poison." Sasori turned to return to his little herb workshop. He spared another bottle of the same size and liquid and kept it on one of the unkempt tables of the raggedy hotel they were in. While Sasori wrapped up his material, Itachi continued to observe the bottle with the possibly the medication.

There were many thoughts floating in the weasel's head. No one was kind to each other in the organisation. They only united because the organisation strengthened and further enhanced their personal motives. Of course, as members, they had also agreed on the basic organisational goals, but those were mainly of concern of the leader. Everyone was out for themselves. So why did the redhead pose such an offer to help him out? All Itachi had heard of Sasori was that he was quite aged, had participated greatly in the Third Shinobi World War and was one of the strongest members in the organisation. He also had heard of his exceptional poison mixing ability, but why was he giving him medication? Itachi realised he was taking too long speculating Sasori's intentions and so he made his decision.

He decided to trust the man in front of him. The solution didn't look like poison. It didn't reek of poison. Itachi took a feeble breath and hovered his hand above his eye to drop the fluid in his eyes. Across him, Sasori simply watched, interested in seeing how his creation would work its magic on the Uchiha.

Itachi felt a bit of irritation in his eyes and it seemed as if the strain worsened, but after some seconds of patience, he felt a soothing sensation slithering through his eyes. He felt serene.

Scrutinising him all along, Sasori read his every reaction. He smirked to himself, complementing his prodigious talent with herbs and fetched a roll of bandages. As Itachi opened his eyes gradually, he saw the redhead leaning in front of him as he circled his hands over the strained eyes and bandaged them. "As I mentioned before, the medicine will only speed up the recovery. You still need rest."

Itachi was listening closely to each said word of the artist, but didn't respond. He sat like an obedient patient, waiting for his doctor to finish the treatment. He didn't even flinch when Sasori started to tape his eyes. But most of all, he was impressed witnessing an act of kindness by the other.

When Sasori was done, he wordlessly gave the second bottle he had prepared of the same medicine, to Itachi by holding his hand. "Just in case you need more." Itachi couldn't see anymore, but he could almost guess that the redhead would be having a soft expression on his face at the moment. He felt obliged enough to give him a tender smile.

"Thank you."

* * *

The Akatsuki had been assembled in one of the caverns. It happened every now and then. The leader would assign duties to the pairs, make important announcements and reveal their next target. That was what normally happened in their meetings, but it was different this time.

"Sasori is dead." Pain spoke in a rather lax tone as he announced the death of one of the members of Akatsuki. "He was a valuable member and I suggest we mourn his death silently." He let his face sink a bit and closed his eyes to quietly grieve. A few minutes passed and Pain continued. "Consequentially, Deidara's partner will now be Tobi. I believe everyone was attentive."

He paused to witness any reaction from the members, but there was none. "Dismiss."

Itachi didn't feel anything. Death was an aspect of life. He had heard of so many people die and besides, everyone in the organisation was basically a criminal. They had to die sometime. He continued to wear an emotionless demeanour, as he and Kisame departed from the hideout with other members, to resume their activities.

* * *

A lone figure stood amidst the empty Uchiha Hideout. It was time. It was finally time. Ever since he left the village after executing his top-secret mission, he had waited for this moment; the moment he could confront his little brother in battle. He couldn't even register the amount of time he spent over the years thinking about the day he was currently living in. He had yearned to meet Sasuke for so long and now he was probably enough strong.

After this battle, Sasuke would get his revenge and by killing him, he would become a hero. Everything was going fine. He would be able to leave his everything to Sasuke and depart this world. He mentally scolded himself for being too engrossed in his thoughts about his brother and the aftermath. He first had to concentrate on their battle. His hand made its way to his ninja tool kit, which was located near his right hip. He had a few kunais, paper bombs and… a bottle?

He took it out and inspected it with a slight frown. He very soon remembered it was Sasori's medicine. He had had great results after his first trial of the remedy and kept it with him in his tool kit, if he'd ever need it again. All his thoughts now diverted to Sasori. He was probably the first person to care enough to make him a remedy, especially for something as vital as his bloodline. Come to think of it, could Itachi call him a comrade, a friend?

There weren't many interactions between the two, but for him to make the Uchiha a medicine. He never thought he would be able to call someone a friend in the organisation. Kisame also fitted closely the definition of friend, as he was quite supportive and helpful.

Itachi smiled and reminisced when he came to inform Sasori that his medicine worked like a charm.

"I feel completely fine, all thanks to you." Itachi stood in front of Sasori, who was slightly leaning on his chamber's door.

"Don't mention it."

That was all he said. But Itachi remembered the redhead's expression clearly. His head tilted and his features wore a wide grin with closed eyes. He was smiling with a sincere heart. The Uchiha could tell Sasori was glad to help him.

"_I think, I did make a friend."_

* * *

**A/N:** _Let me know what you think! Whether it is about my lack of proper description, about development or if you liked it, just anything. Even a word would do, just drop a review._


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